Detention of US Citizens Hindering Engagement With Taliban, Says US State Department

The statement elaborated that these individuals were sentenced to five months of suspended imprisonment and 20 lashes.

The Taliban's Supreme Court statement did not provide further details about the charges against these individuals.

This sentence was issued by a Taliban military court in Herat, but it is unclear whether the accused were members of the Taliban group.

Previously, the Taliban's military court in Herat had sentenced a poet named Khaled Qaderi to one year in prison.

Since the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, physical punishments such as flogging, amputation, and execution have been reinstated in the country.

Human rights advocates and the international community have called on the Taliban to stop inhumane and cruel physical punishments that violate human dignity. However, Taliban officials have stated that they are implementing Islamic Sharia and that these organisations and countries should not interfere in Afghanistan's internal affairs.

Mohib asserted that apart from former President Ashraf Ghani, Vice-President Amrullah Saleh, and a significant number of well-known political figures along with himself, had established relations with the group.

These remarks were made during an interview with Waliullah Malikzai, an Afghan journalist based in the United States. The interview was published on an Afghan-German website earlier this week.

Mohib also refuted claims of coordination and contact with the Haqqani network, allegations that had been reinforced by Ashraf Ghani's brother on Wednesday.

He clarified, "The only time I reached out to Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani was when the regime was collapsing. I proposed a meeting in Logar or Wardak, only to discover later he was communicating from abroad."

Hashmat Ghani Ahmadzai, the brother of Ashraf Ghani, on Wednesday had disclosed that Hamdullah Mohib had been in communication with Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani, a high-ranking Taliban official, before the Taliban's takeover of Kabul. According to him, the National Security Advisor had engaged in discussions with Haqqani "six times" one month prior to the city's fall.

The former President's brother accused Mohib of betraying Ashraf Ghani's trust and deceiving the Afghan populace, as stated in a post on X.

The fall of the government

Mohib attributed the collapse of the government to the demoralisation of the military forces, stating, "A critical error was our reliance on the physical presence of our soldiers in the trenches, even though they had lost their morale."

He recounted suggesting a strategic retreat to Panjshir to Bismillah Mohammadi, the then Defence Minister, to continue the fight against the Taliban. However, Mohammadi deemed it unfeasible, citing a lack of leadership and the morale present during the initial resistance.

Moreover, Mohib expressed his disapproval of supporting anti-Taliban factions, reasoning that "their armament, commands, and strategies are externally sourced”.

Mohib lamented that individuals closely associated with Ashraf Ghani have since distanced themselves, leaving the former President isolated. Currently, Mohib has chosen to reside in Abu Dhabi, close to Ashraf Ghani.

I was executing Ghani's orders

Mohib addressed political critics who have blamed Ghani for monopolising power and confining the decision-making to a select group around the President. He countered these criticisms by stating, "Decisions attributed to me were often taken under the directives of President Ghani and were not my independent choices."

The former National Security Advisor clarified that he is not pursuing any political role in Afghanistan, pointing out the Taliban's unwillingness to share power. He observed, "The Taliban are currently basking in power, indifferent to any advice."

A leader without a country

For the first time, Mohib disclosed that both Switzerland and Norway had denied asylum to the former President of Afghanistan. He speculated that India would likely have made a similar decision.

Despite Ashraf Ghani's favourable relations with India, he opted not to seek refuge there, given India's policy of engagement with the current power holders in Kabul.

After the Taliban encircled Kabul on August 15, 2021, the former President initially fled to Uzbekistan by helicopter before ultimately seeking asylum in the United Arab Emirates.

The front asked people to support former Afghan security forces against the Taliban.

The former government of Afghanistan designated February 29 as "National Soldier's Day" to express appreciation for the soldiers and security and defence forces.

"Afghanistan has been handed over to the Taliban through a disgraceful multilateral agreement," stated AFF in its statement.

In its statement, the front asked the citizens of Afghanistan not to "hesitate in making conscious and responsible efforts to shorten the duration of Taliban tyranny and dismantle the illegitimate and hellish rule of this malevolent group from our sacred land”.

On the other hand, Rahmatullah Nabil, the former Chief of Intelligence of Afghanistan, expressed gratitude for the sacrifices made by the former security forces of Afghanistan on this day, sharing his appreciation on X social media platform.

Following the takeover of power by the Taliban in August 2021, a "general amnesty" was declared in a decree attributed to the group's leader. However, subsequent to that, numerous reports have emerged detailing arrests, torture, and deaths of former soldiers.

Previously, the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner remarked that despite the Taliban's declaration of a general amnesty, there are ongoing instances of extra-judicial killings, torture, and arbitrary detentions in Afghanistan.

Additionally, UNAMA reported last year that the Taliban continues detaining and killing former employees and security forces.

Qomi told ISNA news agency that Helmand’s water rights is "the right" of the people of Iran. He stated that his country is seriously pursuing the issue.

He added that the commissioners of Iran and the Taliban have held their 27th meeting in Zabul regarding the water rights. However, the anticipated outcome expected by the Ministry of Energy of Iran did not materialise. Nonetheless, he emphasised that these meetings are necessary for the implementation of the Afghan-Iranian Helmand River Water Treaty of 1973.

Recently, Iranian media reported that the Helmand River water commission meeting concluded without yielding results. During this meeting, Iranian representatives emphasised on addressing technical problems and removing obstacles, including the structures built by Afghanistan on the way of this river.

After this meeting, the Iranian media wrote that the "Taliban again insulted Iran about Helmand's water right".

In response to Iran's repeated requests, Taliban officials stated that the drought and insufficient water in the Helmand River were the reasons for the diminished flow to Iran.

However, Iran's special representative countered, stating that the 1973 treaty does not explicitly specify that the water in the Kajaki Dam must be allocated to Iran's rights. Moreover, the treaty does not address the scenario where Iran's entitlements should be contingent on rainfall.

Qomi mentioned that Iranian experts visited the measuring station in Afghanistan a few months ago to assess the water volume and determined that it was not significant. However, he emphasised on the need for Iranian specialists to revisit Afghanistan now that winter is over for another round of water measurements.

He stated that the Taliban, fortunately, is not strict regarding the measurement of water by Iranian experts.

The Iranian envoy also underscored the importance of security control along the border with Afghanistan in his conversation with ISNA.

Regarding Iran's border blockade plan, he clarified that this initiative is "not merely for preventing the entry of illegal immigrants and combating human and drug trafficking”. Rather, "we are facing various terrorist elements at the border, supported by major powers that today utilise both soft and hard power simultaneously to strike against us”.

This oil is being refined within Afghanistan by private entities, according to the ministry’s statement.

A significant contract for oil extraction in the Amu Darya basin has been awarded to a Chinese firm by the Taliban.

The ministry revealed on Wednesday that there are presently 24 active oil wells within the basin. They projected that by the end of 2024, the number of operational wells will increase to 47, elevating the daily oil output to 3,000 tonnes.

This operation is providing direct and indirect employment to approximately 1,500 individuals, as per the ministry's data.

Spanning across the northern Afghan provinces of Sar-e Pol, Jowzjan, and Faryab, the Amu Darya oil basin's extraction rights were secured by a Chinese company through a 25-year agreement finalised last year.

The basin is estimated to contain about 87 million barrels of oil reserves.

In an earlier statement, the Taliban outlined the Chinese company CPEIC’s commitment to investing $150 million in the first year, followed by an additional $540 million over the subsequent three years for exploration and extraction activities across 4,500 square kilometres in Sar-e-Pul, Faryab, and Jowzjan.

This contract has been criticised by the Taliban's adversaries, including the National Resistance Front, who deem the agreement as "illegal, irresponsible, and a violation of international norms and standards," citing the Taliban's lack of domestic and international legitimacy.